Pages

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

The Nomadic Lifestyle - Is It Worth It?

Last night I went to bed thinking I would spend today looking for a van or rv. I woke up this morning thinking I should consider more alternatives. Like, how about a good everyday vehicle with a hitch on it. That may turn out to be a van, but most rv's are too bulky to go where I want to go. And, since I don't know whether I want to live in a vehicle of any kind on a fulltime basis or not it does not make sense to put myself into a situation where I have no choice.

And, then there is the government. I started wanting to live the off-the-grid life 20+ years ago. I actually started planning for the rv life back in 2008, but that went out the window in 2009 when I had to retire for health reasons without a penny saved.

Over the past eight year's I have read a lot about the nomadic lifestyle. Everybody involved in a nomadic lifestyle will post about the feelings of freedom that they have on one post and the hassles they endure in their next post. Well, a lot of those hassles come from dealing with government regulations. And, you can count on one thing, - there will be more and more and more regulations as the community of nomads grows. Government is greedy by nature. And then, there are the inevitable breakdowns of equipment. By reading the posts on Facebook "groups" it seems like at least 50% of the posts deal with questions about how to fix this or that. And, I want nothing to do with over-crowded Wal-Mart parking lots and campgrounds.

Lastly, I'm 69 years old. I want comfort even when I travel. I slept in a box for 35 years as an otr trucker. Been there. Done that. So, I'm asking myself, "Is it worth it?" It seems to me that getting away from it all should mean a weekend or a long excursion with comfort built in. That may mean a Holiday Inn on a trip of several days, or a mattress in the back of a van for an overnight campout. To me, the most important things to have when you travel are good food, good rest, and a bathroom/shower. Time and experience will tell.